TRANSLATING FROM HOME TO WORK COMPUTER.(AT HOME)(Computers)

Byline: Ken Mahler

DEAR KEN: When I transfer work that I've done on my home computer to a diskette and then open it on my computer at work, my office computer won't recognize it. I have PFS: Windows Works at home and Microsoft Word at work. How can I get both programs to share information? - C.H.

DEAR C.H.: The problem is that the two programs save their documents in entirely different formats. To draw an analogy, the PFS document is in Latin, but Microsoft Word speaks English.

So, when you create a document at home that you'll want to work on in the office, you'll need to ''translate'' it into a format Microsoft Word understands.

Click File, choose Save As and give the document a name.

Insert a diskette into the drive, open the Drives list and select your diskette drive. Open the Save as Type list and choose the version of Microsoft Word that you have on your office PC.

Click OK, and the document will be saved to the diskette.

At work, start Word and choose Open from the File menu.

Open the Files list, choose the diskette drive and click OK.

DEAR KEN: I have a computer game called ''Shanghai'' that I can run only by exiting Windows 3.1 and typing a command at the DOS prompt. Is there a way to create a Windows icon that will start the game, instead of having to go through all that? - D.F., via the Internet

DEAR D.F.: It really depends on how ''Shanghai'' behaves in Windows. Most DOS programs have no trouble at all. Some will work only if you ''shell out'' to DOS using the DOS Command Line icon in the Main group. And others simply refuse to work at all unless you're totally out of Windows.

Let's set up an icon and see what happens:

Open the program group you want the new icon to reside in, click File and choose New.

Click the Program Item radio button and choose OK.

In the next dialog box, type a label for the icon, click the Browse button and select the file that starts the program - SHANGHAI.EXE, maybe.

Click OK and choose an icon in the ensuing dialog box. Click OK and the new icon appears in Program Manager.

Double-click the newly created icon to make sure ''Shanghai'' starts.

If it doesn't, try double-clicking the DOS Command Line icon in the Main group. This will give you the opportunity to type the DOS command required to start Shanghai. When you want to get back to Windows, type EXIT.

If ''Shanghai'' still won't work, it may be that it will function only if Windows isn't running. As a last-ditch effort, call the game's Tech Support line.

Ken Mahler runs a conputer consulting business. He can be reached at kmahler at one.net

Text of fax box follows:

Be careful deleting in Windows 95

You probably think you're safe whenever you delete files in Windows 95. After all, they end up in the Recycle Bin and remain there until you ''empty'' it (by right-clicking its icon and choosing Empty). Until then, you can always retrieve them if you change your mind, right?

Most of the time, yes, but not always. When you delete

files from external drives (like floppy disks or network drives) they never make it to the Recycle Bin and are permanently deleted. When deleting files from these locations, you should always be extra careful by making backup copies of files you may need later.